As our ferry pulled out of Portoferraio, port city of Elba, I thought about those few days we’d had there on this glorious island and they seemed condensed to just fleeting, pleasurable moments. Across the harbor, a clipper ship was anchored just below the fortress. I wondered where it was from and how long the…
On one of our meanders on the island of Elba, we followed twisting roads skirting wooded mountains, ending up in the tiny port town of Rio Marina on the eastern side of the island. It was lunchtime. No better time to arrive in Rio Marina: we’d heard rave reviews about Trattoria/Pizzeria Mambo, across from the…
When you’re on the island of Elba, you’ll want to get both viewpoints of this Tuscan island: views from Elba’s winding coastal roads skirting chestnut forests and views of Elba from the sea as you take a boat ride around the island. During our island stay, we did both. Leaving our mountainside rental apartment at…
Destination for late August seaside break? The island of Elba, off the Tuscan coast. Afternoon ferry ticket purchased at the port city of Piombino, we were ready for our first seafood lunch of the holidays. We found a gem by accident, right near the port: Lo Scoglietto. The name means “small rocky outcropping along the…
Snails are served up not at the proverbial “snail’s pace” but with zip and verve by the earnest young wait staff at the August food festival near Bevagna starring snails, la Sagra della Lumaca. [lcaption]Selena serves up roasted snails[/lcaption] [lcaption]Smiling Giuseppe brings antipasti and bruschette[/lcaption] [lcaption]Samuele with polenta alla salsa di lumache and tagliatelle[/lcaption] [lcaption]Bruschette…
It’s finally open again that winding road linking the medieval mountain town of Norcia to the tiny walled town of Castelluccio, perched like a quiet solemn sentinel over the Piano Grande – and both towns devastated in the October 30, 2016 earthquake. [lcaption]The winding road from Norcia to Castelluccio, post-earthquake 2016[/lcaption] Castelluccio is a wounded…
If you blink, you might drive right past Castagnoli (pop. not more than 70), tiny frazione of Gaiole in Chianti. You might also be distracted by the sweeping panoramas of vineyards and olive groves draping the hills bordering the roadside. But…attenzione! Don’t pass the former hayshed now a restaurant, Osteria Il Bandito. If you’re in Tuscany’s…
It was a last-minute decision to head to Macerata, walled Marches hilltown not far from the Adriatic, for opera on an August night – but we weren’t going to miss Puccini’s “Turandot.” Our B&B find was a last-minute jab of good fortune. “Il Piccolo Frutteto” (“The Little Orchard”) has been open just a few years…
The scorching heat – daily temperatures over 40 C (well over 100 F ) – blistering central and southern Italy for all July and much of August has broiled our vegetable garden. Some tomatoes gamely survive but salad, beans, peppers, eggplants, onions, cucumbers, celery and even the parsley, have all succumbed. Even the massive centuries-old…
When in central Italy from spring to late fall, you can’t miss feasting with the “locals” at a sagra (village food festival of local specialties cooked and served up by local volunteers). Each sagra features various dishes cooked up with delicacies of the area: snails at Cantalupo, pork shank at Petrignano, eels at Beroide (near…